Loves Me, Loves Me Not
by Lucy Kay
Summary: Katie's agonizing over her crush on the local farmer because he tells all of the best jokes, and he's so hardworking, and he doesn't wear sleeves year round. But sometimes, she's just not sure he's worth all the fuss. Written for the Assigned Character prompt.


**A/N:** This prompt was really cool. I'm glad I got to look back at my first game with one of my first favorite girls. It also gave me a chance to write for a sixteen-year-old, and it was fun to find that silliness again. I hope for another character challenge prompt soon. Thanks for assigning Katie to me, SaoirseParisa!

Thanks for reading!

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 **Loves Me, Loves Me Not**

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Like Rapunzel gazing from her tower window, Katie liked to brush her hair while she stalked people. Well, it wasn't _stalking,_ exactly. To her, that required movement. She couldn't help it if sometimes people just so happened to hang around in view of her bedroom window while she was at her vanity… with the window cracked open a smidge to hear their conversations.

 _Her voice was so quiet though… She probably thinks it's cute. Feh._ Katie wrinkled her nose as she watched, running the brush through her shiny brown hair until it was feather soft. The rhythm in which she worked was slow and distracted as she stared out her dusty window at the couple by the lake.

Lyla had been nothing but kind to her, but Katie couldn't help resenting her now. After all, she was looking pretty flirty down there chatting up the local farmer. Her hands folded politely and her shoulders straight with perfect posture – she was practically throwing herself at Tony. It made Katie sick. And kind of feel sorry for her. _Desperate granny._

"Well, no matter," she said, looking back at her mirror and shooting herself a sneaky smile. Her brown eyes were warm and confident. "She's, like, twenty-two; she's practically got one foot in the grave. He'd never look at her that way."

Still, Katie peeked back to check. Tony was smiling and nodding and adding to the conversation, and she began to worry. Lyla really was awfully pretty for an old biddy. Voluptuous and experienced – two things Katie hella didn't have. She clutched at her own flat shirt front in envy.

Katie went back to her mirror, slapping her cheeks. "No, no, no! No way! Compared to her, I have a _way_ better chance. It's not like he sees me as just some kid, right? Right? Right."

She collapsed on her vanity with a groan.

This had been going on for far too long. Ever since Tony came to the valley, really. Katie had been minding her manners for her grandpa's sake as she smoothed her pink skirt and listened to them talk at the café. He introduced himself as Tony's grandson, and Wallace was delighted to meet his old friend's next of kin. Katie just kept thinking that it was pretty old-fashioned to be named after a grandparent, and his hat was pretty dumb. But when he looked her way and said he was excited to try her baking that Wallace had been hyping up, her heart kind of… snapped. Popped? Like it squeezed down to the size of a quarter in her chest. It was such a physical reaction for her. One look her way and a genuine smile was all it took to get Katie spellbound. And hella determined to win him over.

Katie practiced day and night to perfect her confections. Before, she was okay with just putting out whatever. Maybe cinnamon rolls or some brownies – nothing special. She wasn't exactly driven. She had always looked towards a future far away from Sugar Village, so it never mattered whether or not she did a good job. After all, she was just helping out as a favor to her grandpa. She just had to exist until she could escape. But now that someone was counting on her, looking forward to what she could do… Katie became a machine. Wallace marveled at how his lazy granddaughter went from a space cadet to a hard worker overnight.

Tony would visit often, and Katie always had a new cake for him to try. She really had no idea what she was doing. She knew what cake was supposed to look and taste like, but all hell if she could make it from scratch. Sometimes, she'd throw in everything but the kitchen sink trying to get that recipe for the perfect flavor she was looking for, and Tony tried them all. She felt particularly apologetic over that one with all of that baking soda. It made him sick for days.

Still, Tony kept coming back. And every time he asked what the newest creation for him was, Katie's heart melted a little more. She felt special. Sought after. And even though she had a long way to go, the first time he said it was good, she felt so accomplished. Like all of the work and failure was worth it for that one moment of his approval.

Katie picked herself up and moodily snatched up her brush again. When she looked out the window, Lyla was gone, and Tony was fishing at the lake alone. She didn't have to worry about Lyla butting in on anything – nothing of merit was really there to begin with. It was mostly one-sided on Katie's part. Tony didn't seem interested in any of the local girls. He was busy as a bee, and Katie was rather grateful. He took time out of his day for her. That was telling enough.

But… what exactly did she want from him? It made Katie turn beet red just thinking about it, but she really had no clue. It's not like she had ever properly kissed anyone before. If Tony tried to sweep her off her feet, she'd surely put up a fight. No, she didn't want his affection… not yet anyways. She wanted his attention. She wanted to be noticed, vindicated. She wanted him to say she was his most favorite person… and do nothing about it.

Gangly, awkward, little Katie. Bold enough to say she'd kiss a boy and fearlessly punch him in the nose if he tried. Maybe she only liked the _idea_ of Tony and not really who he was as a person. Just like how she liked the idea of a boyfriend until she thought of the things couples would do. _Maybe I'm not in Lyla's league…_

She tossed the lock over her shoulder and started on another one. Katie counted to one hundred and couldn't help but let her attention wander back to him again. This time when her eyes went to the window, she spotted a familiar bandana coming to join Tony with a tackle box of his own. Katie brushed more vigorously, now annoyed with herself.

Joe was so… Joe. Happy like a loyal dog. Katie could kick him, and he'd come galloping back all grins. It kind of annoyed her. He didn't seem real with such a stunted range of emotions. Katie found herself jealous of his blissful attitude and attacked by it all at the same time.

Of course, there was a time when Joe was all Katie was thinking about. Kind of like what she was doing with Tony now. He was at the lake all day, and he was at the bar all night, so Katie saw him constantly. When he was working, he was a carpenter's apprentice, so he got some good muscles from the discipline. Joe was her top priority because his smiles were always free, and in the summer, he rarely wore a shirt. He was totally perfect.

Besides, it wasn't like there was really anyone else around. Katie had already had a crush on his brother Kurt until that one time he ordered a caprese salad, and she even had a thing for the inventor Louis for awhile until music night when he pulled out a goddamn _recorder._ Just about everyone else was old or married or old and married in these parts, so Joe was the most logical choice for her affections. That is, until Tony showed up.

Katie stopped brushing and just stared at the wall. _Wait. Did… did she like Tony because…?_

She stood and leaned against the wall. Like a spy on a mission, she poked her head around to subtly look out the window. As if she'd be spotted now when she never had been before.

It was weird to see Joe now and not get that sense of excitement like she had whenever she saw Tony. She hadn't realized those feelings had gone away until they had completely vanished, and it was too late to even bemoan their loss. She didn't miss Joe because she had Tony.

But did she like Tony just because he was there and available? Maybe it was all an illusion, and she had been living in deluded fantasies because she simply couldn't crush on anyone else. Maybe he wasn't all that handsome after all. Maybe his jokes weren't that funny. Maybe his ponytail wasn't that sexy.

What if it wasn't love at all? What if she was just bored?

"But how am I supposed to know if it's all in my head?" Katie asked herself, her eyes gravitating to her stuffed bear across the room. She went to it and squatted down to ask him in a whisper. "It feels real to me… but how can I know for sure?"

His beady black eyes stared unblinkingly off into oblivion, and Katie sighed. She picked him up and gave him a hug anyways. He always cheered her up.

Katie took her bear with her back to her window. Tony was laughing hard at something Joe had done, and the sound carried up to her room. A smile instantly tugged at her lips, and she wistfully sighed. So maybe Tony was kind of a dork, and it was slim pickings this side of the mountain. But… he was so sweet. He might've even been really similar to Joe, too, but he had half a brain, and his biceps were bigger.

She was content with her decision until she looked back and saw the idiots had started making up a chorus of farting noises using their arm pits. Katie rolled her eyes and tossed her bear on her bed. "Omigod, I'm so stupid for even caring."

Plopping back down on her chair at her vanity, she took up a band and began styling her hair. It was her day off, and she was totally wasting it thinking about dumb, old Tony. Stupid, immature Tony. Crazy… hard-working… sweet and selfless Tony. _Dammit._

Katie attempted a ponytail like he wore his and hated it. She took it out, shaking her curls loose and fluffing them out. Her freckled reflection frowned at her. She blew a raspberry. She was kind of sick of thinking about him, but she didn't want to _not_ think about him either. It was quite the conundrum. Maybe she was just bored after all…

"Joe, it's time for supper!"

Katie's eyes widened at the familiar voice, and she dashed to her window yet again. There at the top of the hill was a girl with a blonde ponytail and combat boots. It was none other than Gwen, her neighbor from the carpentry shop.

"What are you morons up to?" Because she always seemed to be yelling, Gwen's voice tended to carry. She joined the boys at the edge of the lake, and Katie giggled when she saw her slap Joe upside the head. Tony laughed, too, and Katie wished she was down there with them. Be a part of the group.

But her heart began to sink as she watched the way Tony and Gwen carried on at Joe's expense, making him the butt of their jibes. They played off one another, and Gwen could keep up with his humor in a way Katie could only play audience to. She found herself becoming jealous and scared all at the same time.

Gwen didn't know how much Katie liked Tony – she had kept it a secret from everybody. Nobody could know; she had to figure out what the hell she was even feeling first. If anyone found out at this stage, she _couldn't even._ Katie shuddered at the very thought.

That meant though that Gwen might've liked Tony, too. They would all hang out together, and Gwen was two years older than her, so she was closer to his age. She was a good cook, an animal right's activist, and she ran the carpenter's shop alongside her grandfather with an iron fist. She had a lot going for her. What did Katie have compared to that? Salty cake.

They had been best friends for forever. Gwen would give her piggyback rides, and they'd swim all day. Sure, they had a rocky start, and they still fought – a princess and a tomboy were always going to disagree – but Katie and Gwen were total besties until the end. If he liked Gwen, she would _die._

Katie made a running tackle to her bed and buried her face in her pillows. Tony and Gwen would make a great couple. How couldn't she see it before? She couldn't imagine pretending to be happy for them, but she'd have to fake it for her. Katie put Gwen first. Of course, she'd say congratulations and gush over how cute they were together. She wouldn't dream of doing anything different. Katie pouted. But why did just the idea of that hurt so bad?

Tony would never see her as anything but a kid. She was only sixteen, and she couldn't count on him waiting for her to catch up. He had beautiful women like Lyla or smart girls like Gwen to choose from. She was just Plain-Jane Katie – stuck as a little sister to everyone forever. It sucked to be the youngest. He'd never take her seriously.

"I hate this!" Katie whined, smothering her voice in her pillow. "Why'd I have to go and fall in like with an older man?!"

Her melodrama didn't help the situation any. She remained face down, her breath getting hot in the covers, but she didn't want to come up for air. It was all so useless, and she just wanted to feel sorry for herself for awhile. Besides, that's what her days off were usually for.

"Katie! Oh, Katie! You've got a visitor!" Her grandfather's voice called from the bottom of the stairs.

Katie's head snapped up, her ears perked. She whirled around to check the window, and her heart pounded when Tony was missing from her view. She kicked her feet over the side of her bed and leapt to the floor, running her fingers through her hair to control the frizz.

"Katie? You sleeping already?" Wallace prompted again after a minute.

"I'm coming!" Katie shouted back, trying to keep her tone sing-songy and cute in case Tony could hear. She checked her breath, and she pinched her cheeks to make them look rosy because she read it in a book once. She gave her bear a pat on the head and sprinted from her room, feet pounding down the stairs.

When she got to the end of the hall before the bar room, Katie purposefully slowed her pace to appear casual. She stopped outside the door and took a deep breath. _Here we go! Big, grownup smile!_

"Hello!" Katie said, entering the main room. Even though she was expecting him, seeing Tony waiting across the counter for her made her head feel all fuzzy and light. She waved to her grandfather in passing and stood across from the farmer. "Hey, Tony! What's up?"

"I was just in the area, so I thought I'd stop in and say hi," he said. It was just a tiny bit infuriating that he seemed totally chill. Why couldn't he be all worked up like Katie was? It was so unfair!

"Cool! I don't have any cakes for you to try today though. Sorry! It's my day off," Katie struggled to remain flippant, but she hated disappointing him.

"Hey, maybe next time. But I got a surprise for ya," Tony announced, quickly segueing from the topic of baking. Katie had blindly assumed that was the only reason he would come to the café looking for her, so anything different was surprise enough. If he got her a gift, it was seriously going to get her hopes up.

"Oh?" Katie stood on her tip toes, elbows on the counter as she tried to see behind him where he had been keeping one hand hidden.

Tony saw her being nosey, and she couldn't prevent the blush hitting her ears when he grinned. "No peeking now. Close your eyes."

 _Omigod._ If he smiled at her like that, she'd walk the miles to the villa and back everyday on the off chance she'd run into him again. _Huh._ That wasn't a half-bad idea. Maybe she'd start doing that.

She did as she was told and waited. A sweet scent hit her nose, and she furrowed her brow in curiosity.

"Okay, open 'em!" He exclaimed.

Katie went cross-eyed to see the blurry object he was holding centimeters from her face. Once her vision focused, the scent connected, and she realized it was a bouquet of pink cat mint flowers. Her favorite. _How did he know?_ She backed away and stood stock straight like a soldier in astonishment, unsure of how to respond.

"Don't ya like these? I see ya lookin' at 'em all the time, so I picked a few," Tony explained, his smile never faltering as he held them out for her to take. He looked like a goofy prince with manure on his boots. So contradictory in elements, so completely wonderful in all of them.

She robotically reached forward and accepted the bouquet, looking to her grandfather as if asking permission, but he was no longer there at the other end of the counter. She held the flowers close to her heart to stifle its frantic beating. Katie looked back to Tony, slapping on a bright smile. "Thanks – I love them!"

"I'm glad," Tony chuckled at her enthusiastic reaction. He ruffled her meticulously set head of curls, unaware of the painstaking time she had put into her hair just moments prior. "See ya later, kiddo!"

Katie's mouth gaped like a fish, and she was at a loss for a retort. Tony had already turned and headed for the door. All of her fears over the afternoon came flooding back, and just that easy, she was back to square one. All progress lost. The flowers felt heavy as bricks, and she clenched them in her fist as she glared daggers at his back. "Don't call me that! I'm not a kid!"

Tony laughed aloud and opened the door. He looked back over his shoulder. "Haha! Katie, you're so cute when you're angry. 'Til next time, kid!"

 _He said it AGAIN!_ Katie stomped her foot, proving he wasn't too far off in his nickname for her, and the door shut. She wanted to pull out her hair. She wanted to throw the bouquet on the floor. She wanted to chop off the hand that ruined her hairdo. She wanted to bottle his laugh and keep it. She wanted to imprint the image of him smiling at her in her mind forever. "The _nerve!_ He's the worst! _"_

Katie was still rooted to the spot. She was glad the restaurant was empty this afternoon, so nobody saw her mood swing. The smile on her face almost hurt it was so wide, and she could've squealed with delight. She rubbed one of the soft petals of the flowers with her thumb, and her heart flip flopped again. _He said next time._

Unable to contain it, she danced in circles like a spaz and only collected herself when the bell chimed with the arrival of their dinner customers. Wallace reappeared, and she had to work extra hard to act normal. After everything, she hoped she'd suffer this infatuation for a long time.

Did she like him because she was scared of really moving away? Was she looking for a reason to stay? Did she like him as an opportunity? Was she just jealous of him falling for someone else?

Whatever the reason, Katie didn't know. And she kind of liked it that way. Because she didn't need to know _why_ she had such a massive crush on Tony yet. She just did. Love or not, she didn't care. And she wasn't going to give it up anytime soon. She took a big whiff of the sweet-scented blooms and spun on her heel with a giggle as she went to retrieve a vase. There was an extra skip in her step. _Liking Tony was too much fun!_


End file.
